Coming Home & Never Too Late

Hello All:

I was born in Kentucky and came from a family with a taste for bourbon. I think it was in my veins, just waiting to be noticed and appreciated. Even though I live in California, I've "come home" to this blessed drink and am quite happy to have done so.

Here is some of my story. I spent time in college drinking everything in sight without moderation, took more than a decade off any kind of drink, and came back to it a few years ago. I'd nearly settled on a classic gin martini as my go-to drink when one splendid day I went on a quick run to my local liquor store for more gin. However, they were stocking the gin aisle so I passed the time wandering other "isles." Flickers of recognition from my "party days" started to spark some new thought and while I was passing along the whiskey aisle I saw a bottle of something called Buffalo Trace.

Hmm. Bourbon, eh? Of my six uncles I knew while growing up, one was a "pure straight bourbon drinker" and I liked him best. Perhaps his drink was part of his personality or a expression of it? Could be! So thinking of good ol' Uncle Ed, I bought the bottle but to be honest, I also got it because I really liked the packaging and appreciated the real cork top.

That evening I opened the bottle, enjoyed the full nose coming out of it and poured myself a taste over a few ice cubes.

After one sip, a genuine smile spread across my face and felt like it went all through me. My life changed for the better. Absolutely everything agreed with me about that drink. Nowadays, I'm still in the early exploration stages of bourbon drinking but I am happy to already say with conviction that the thought of bourbon makes me happy, pouring it makes me happy, drinking it makes me happy and the next day I am happy to have drunk it. (This has not been the usual progression with gin.) No spirits from my party days entice me and the current crop of fancy flavored, brightly-colored concoctions served in fishbowls-on-stems just look icky. What makes me smile is bourbon neat, perhaps a splash of water and/or ice, and when feeling in a cocktail mood, an Old Fashioned.

I feel fortunate to have stumbled upon a bourbon that's generally regarded as a very good one, as it seems to have activated my palate and set me up for many years of tasting and enjoying. I know some love and some hate BT and that's the way it should be. Count me in as an enthusiastic new bourbon drinker and one who pledges to remain open-minded about it all.

Re: Coming Home & Never Too Late

Awesome intro, Trace. "Bourbon makes me happy...". You just summed it up for all of us, right there! I can tell, you're gonna really like it here. Welcome aboard! I look forward to hearing about your continuing exploration into Bourbonia.

Re: Coming Home & Never Too Late

Originally Posted by smokinjoe

Awesome intro, Trace. "Bourbon makes me happy...". You just summed it up for all of us, right there! I can tell, you're gonna really like it here. Welcome aboard! I look forward to hearing about your continuing exploration into Bourbonia.

Thank you, smokinjoe. Yes, the fact that "bourbon makes me happy" does sum things up, and what a wide range of happiness there is to be had in the world of bourbon! I'd no idea but am certainly having a great time finding out.

Originally Posted by BourbonJoe

Welcome aboard Trace. I enjoyed your story. You will make many friends here.
Joe

Thank you, BourbonJoe. Glad you liked my story. I praise the guys who had the gin aisle boxed up that day. I also look forward to happy times discussing this most excellent of drinks.

Originally Posted by DeanSheen

Welcome to the darkside.

Heh! As long as it's an amber-dark, I think I will be happy on this side.

Originally Posted by mrviognier

Nicely done! Speaking as a fellow newbie to this site - but long-time Bourbon lover - who just moved FROM California I think you've found a home. Welcome!

Thanks! I'm probably in California to stay for a great long while but I've now got the best excuse for a visit back home - distillery tours! Educational experiences, of course, designed to broaden the mind, educate the palate and contribute something to the distilling economy that does so much for so many.

So far I'm content to have Buffalo Trace as my "daily pour" and am looking forward to starting a tasting collection of sorts. I want to try some things from the Beam brands as well as Heaven Hill. I'll probably start with Knob Creed and Elijah Craig as they both seem to get positive praise from a wide range of people around here. It's very nice to have a new hobby where the main work is accomplished by thoughtful sipping.

Re: Coming Home & Never Too Late

Originally Posted by smokinjoe

Awesome intro, Trace. "Bourbon makes me happy...". You just summed it up for all of us, right there! I can tell, you're gonna really like it here. Welcome aboard! I look forward to hearing about your continuing exploration into Bourbonia.

I think Joe said it all! Welcome to the board What part of Kentucky are you originally from?

Re: Coming Home & Never Too Late

Originally Posted by camduncan

I think Joe said it all! Welcome to the board What part of Kentucky are you originally from?

The northeastern edge, glorious Appalachia. As fancy as I used to get and can still pretend to be, it's nice to know I'm from the hills and always will be at heart. So much of the world wants you to buy yourself upward, into ever-increasing ideas of grandeur. But having plain roots seems a virtue and a nice counter to all the pretense.

Originally Posted by SBOmarc

California, being quite a large place gives no one an idea of location. North? South? Yosemite?